Live review: Matt Swift EP launch @ Mello Mello 20/7/11

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Gig review: Matt Swift EP launch @ Mello Mello

Wednesday 20th July 2011

Matt Swift (photo © Adrian Wharton)  


Mello Mello in Slater Street seemed an excellent venue for Matt Swift to continue to promote the launch of his ‘Lessons Over’ EP and raise donations to the National Autistic Society. Quirky, interesting venue but not so much that it distracted from the support acts and their sets performed on stage from 7.30pm until 10.30pm when Matt (joined by Barry Briercliffe) took centre stage and promoted this current EP as well as giving us an insight to his new EP to be called ‘Pop Factory’.

I found a corner at the side of the room and enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the individual supporting performances by Karl McCann, Peter Cunningham, Barry Briercliffe, Rachael Dunn and the Rain, Jo Bywater and Anne Marie Howard.

As this was not only a launch but also a fundraising event by Matt and friends for the Autistic Society (a charity close to Matt’s and my own hearts). I elected to pay my entrance and make a donation to do this review and was glad when Matt sat by me chatting and revealed that Mello Mello had waived their charges for the night. A final total of £100 plus raised on the night for the charity.

Rachael Dunn and Paul Raey (photo © Adrian Wharton) 

Every support act did good sets of 4 or 5 songs, either all their own compositions or some included a cover thrown in for luck. At times certain songs within a set stood out as well constructed, lyrically strong and were performed with an acoustic plectrum strumming style and vocals that overall was pleasing to the ears. Audience participation was encouraged and taken up by friends and fans alike in the room. In retrospect however I felt that the build up to the launch was inhabited by performances enjoyable but not inspiring as they all generally relied on an efficient and dominating plectrum strum action for their acoustic effect. Finger picking interludes may have given some variety which after all is still considered ‘the spice of life”. Rachael Dunn and The Rain provided a welcome diversion or interlude from the plectrum strummed guitar accompaniments generally offered.   



In fairness all the support acts gave committed performances that served to create a platform for Matt to launch his Lesson Over EP in a final 50 minute session. Their was however one outstanding performance in the support sets and was produced when Anne Marie Howard invited Barry Briercliffe on stage to sing as a duo the last song of the support acts session which they dedicated to Matt.

Barry Briercliffe and Anne Marie Howard (photo © Adrian Wharton) 

Two voices two guitars and lyrics in vocal harmony. They created a synergetic performance of one song that lit up the night’s performances and surpassed by some way their own individual sets. This provided an ideal lead into Matt Swift’s set. It could also be that when Anne Marie and Barry reflect on the reception the room gave their performance on the night their rehearsal time was well spent and perhaps the acoustic scene could stand some further performances from these two singer songwriters sharing a stage as a duo.


As Matt took to the stage I was struck that his physical presence was very similar (not a look alike) to James Blunt. Matt’s vocal performance is pitched differently but his phrasing and strumming of his guitar in the songs he performed on the night could be compared to those of JB and others of his ilk.

Matt treated us to an opening song Pop Factory that is the title song of his new, soon to be recorded EP.  His second offering was also one of his new songs Fist of Fame which he introduced by explaining to the audience that he plays guitar and performs for the enjoyment and his 12 years on the Merseyside acoustic circuit have been and continue to be enjoyable. Matt definitely achieved in giving enjoyment to his audience with his opening new songs and included in his 11 song set those songs from his Lesson Over EP, including the title song Lessons Over which has strong lyrics and composition and Matt performed it live with a clear voice and a strumming style complimentary to the melody chosen for the words. Also from the EP, Wishing Man, Think of Me, Everybody’s Dreaming, Momentary Loss…. were all included in this set. 

Matt Swift and Alun Parry (photo © Adrian Wharton)

He also performed a cover of an Alun Parry song and his “Political Song”, as he introduced it, I’m Right, with Alun playing guitar as Matt sang solo at the microphone. His last song, applauded loudly and enthusiastically by the audience as he closed, was a rendition of his ‘first song he ever wrote’ which I will give as the title as it sounds feasible and I didn’t write the title down on the night!



Matt thanked Barry Briercliffe for his accompanying guitar and percussion on stage and his arranging and production of the the CD being promoted on the night. 

I can recommend that Matt Swift is from my first experience of his songs and sound “well worth a listen”. I would personally suggest that he is a particularly personable, enjoyable and certainly highly accomplished performer that deserves more exposure and people to discover him and his songwriting, even after 12 years on the circuit.

If you see an advert or flyer for a Matt Swift performance on the Merseyside acoustic circuit make an effort to see him live. He will enjoy you being there and you may even like his live performance. And having listened to his EP, I would say that only ‘live’ will you see and enjoy fully the ‘Real Matt Swift’, ‘standing up’ and entertaining you, while ‘being counted’.



© 2011 Paul Robbo
Liverpool Acoustic – liverpoolacoustic.co.uk